Sunday, August 30, 2015

From luxury cars with doors that open while driving to children’s drink cups containing potentially deadly batteries, a soaring number of products are being ­recalled due to safety concerns.

But while Australian Competition and Consumer Commission figures show the number of recalls rose by more than 40 per cent since 2010 to 510 last year, only about half of the dodgy goods are ever returned, leaving thousands of hazardous products in Australian homes.

Evidence given to a Senate economics committee this year highlighted that dangerous toys have a particularly low rate of ­return, putting children at risk.

As many as 50 migrants have been found dead inside a parked truck on a highway in Austria, according to police.

The 7.5-tonne poultry truck, which is reported to contain between 20 and 50 decomposing bodies, was found sitting on the side of the eastern A4 highway near the Hungarian border, police spokesman Hans Peter Doskozil said.

Wildlife scientists are calling for more research into a popular rabbit bait, after finding it may present a high risk of secondary poisoning.

Pindone is an anti-coagulant compound, commonly used on oat and carrot baits, to control wild rabbit populations in both Australia and New Zealand.

Findings published in the scientific journal Wildlife Research this week conclude concentrated levels of the poison, which were found in liver and fat tissues of baited rabbits, could present a high risk to non-target predators.

Wildlife scientists are calling for more research into a popular rabbit bait, after finding it may present a high risk of secondary poisoning.

Pindone is an anti-coagulant compound, commonly used on oat and carrot baits, to control wild rabbit populations in both Australia and New Zealand.

Findings published in the scientific journal Wildlife Research this week conclude concentrated levels of the poison, which were found in liver and fat tissues of baited rabbits, could present a high risk to non-target predators.

Prescription drug abuse is growing at an alarming rate and is a "national emergency", the Australian Medical Association (AMA) says.

The concerns come as advocacy organisation ScriptWise kicks off a national campaign next week to make people more aware of the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

ScriptWise spokesman and AMA WA council of general practice chair Dr Steve Wilson said the violence and crime that flowed from methamphetamine addiction may be dominating the national agenda but prescription drug abuse is killing more people.

ScriptWise

Australians aged 20-29 years most likely to misuse pharmaceuticals for non-medical purposes in their lifetime (10.3%)

Approximately 10 million prescriptions are written annually for benzodiazepines, which it is estimated that one in fifty Australians are currently taking a benzodiazepine and have been taking the drug for longer than 6 months

Oxycodone prescription in Australia increased more than 152%, between 2002 and 2008

Household dust is full of living organisms that are determined, in large part, by where the home is located and who is living in it, finds a new study that includes some surprising revelations.

Homes with a greater ratio of male occupants, for example, were found to contain large amounts of skin and faecal-associated bacteria, while women-dominated households contained an abundance of vaginally shed bacteria that somehow wound up in dust.

The study, published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, is believed to be the most extensive ever on microorganisms found in household dust.

Senior author Noah Fierer says there are "millions of bacteria and fungi living inside our homes."